A cousin sent a messenger to fetch me. I've been chosen to be the village witch for Eastlow Down. Apparently someone's had their blood drunk by a vampire and the old witch has disappeared. I tried avoidance by hiding in the woods, but my sisters found me and dragged me to my fate. Now I've reached the village and it's time to take up the family tradition of the family witch.
Second of smaller-scale actual plays. In this one you're a witch curing ailments.
Rolling solo alt - all | apothecaria | broken cask | english eerie
Apothecaria solo - intro | start | finish
[Ladybird photo by Filipe Resmini] Disclosure - I'm a DriveThru RPG affiliate.
Game Introduction - Apothecaria
apothecaria | my witch and familiar | first ailment
Taking a break from regular solo RPGs, after 2 years and 12 RPG actual plays. Back after trying out some alternative solo games.
Apothecaria is a journalling game, where you're a village witch healing the ailments of the unfortunates nearby. I ordered my copy from DungeonLand in the UK. My last journalling game was English Eerie, and it should go better than that one as it's not horror.
It's by Anna Blackwell, who's a veteran of making solo games (For For Small Creatures Such As We, Delve, Rise).
My physical copy is a booklet of 56 pages and it's a clean layout which has had a lot of thought put into it. You're immersed from the first page, as the introduction is written by the last witch, telling you exactly what the game will be about. Namely diagnosing people's ailments and finding the ingredients to make a potion to cure them with.
The game uses a deck of cards when a choice is needed. You can choose your result instead of using a random element and it won't break anything.
For the gameplay, you're following the basic loop of
- Diagnose the Ailment of your patient by drawing a card, making notes of the patient and ailment Tags
- Find two or more Reagents that match the Tags of the ailment and choose which ones to search for
- Then it's time to go Foraging for reagents in the wilds.
- Draw a card to see what happens (a trap, a lucky find, a friendly creature, a monster, etc)
- You may get your Reagent or not quite yet
- Repeat until you get all your reagents or return home
- Prepare the Potion, using the correct tools and methods. Name the potion, record it in the journal, see how well you did and get paid.
- Repeat!
As you cure more patients, your Reputation will improve and you'll get to the point where you deal with Intermediate, Advanced and Expert ailments.
There are more parts of the game, such as Upgrades to help you a Familiar who helps you out and taking Downtime between ailments (and during too). Later on you can celebrate the Festivals, and consider beginning the Search, finding out what happened to the old witch (driven by drawing Jokers).
The game so far is giving me a sense of calm, which is appreciated at the moment! Parts of the book are colour-coded, which is always a bonus.
My Witch and Familiar
apothecaria | my witch and familiar | first ailment
Eastlow Down and Girvan
The best thing about solo is when you make it your own thing. Either in the default assumptions, the way you play it, or the kind of game it is.
By default the village is called High Rannoc, but the village I'll be witch of is called Eastlow Down (courtesy of my own English Place Name gen).
My witch is Girvan, a witch from a family of potion makers and healers. He's never been keen on the family vocation, but fate has decided that's the path he's taking!
Girvan also finds his familiar upon reaching Eastlow Down, in nearby woods. His familiar is called Pixie, a ladybird (8 - Insect) with the Ways ability to find a particular reagent (I'll choose which one as part of the story)
Game Setup - First Ailment and Arrival
apothecaria | my witch and familiar | first ailment
The first ailment is Drunk, an ailment with the Tags of Blood (potency 1), Cold (potency 1) and Senses (potency 2). It has a Time Limit of 8 weeks.
My patient is a Malcolm, grizzled human guard who's handsome and knows it. (filled out with Medieval Scottish Names and Quick Fantasy NPCs from Chaos Gen)
Looking through the reagents for Forest and Loch, there wasn't a great selection for what was needed. In the Mountains were two reagents needed. I'd be looking for Nest Scraps (for Cold) and Cynic Ivy (for Senses). Then I'd also need get some Slime Shell (for Blood) from the Loch.
Girvan would have preferred to forage in the forest (good for hiding in), but life is taking him in other directions.
Entry 1, First Week of Spring
A cousin sent a messenger to fetch me. I've been chosen to be the village witch for Eastlow Down. Apparently someone's had their blood drunk by a vampire and the old witch has disappeared. I tried avoidance by hiding in the woods, but my sisters found me and dragged me to my fate. Now I've reached the village and it's time to take up the family tradition of the family witch.
Entry 2, First Week of Spring
I've arrived at Eastlow down and met my patient. He's a pale-looking fellow who's got good looks that have gone to his head. Malcolm is an older fellow who escorts traders to and from the village. By the look of the bite marks on his neck and shoulder he's had his blood drained and come down with a cold from moonlit escapades at the Loch.
My first reaction was to take up the life of a wandering minstrel. I got as far as the woods when the Faerie intervened. I'd taken a nap in a hollow when I dreamed of a nest of red eggs. One hatched into a red flower that turned into a big red spider and then a ladybird. When I woke there was a red ladybird before me.
I followed her to some nest scraps nearby and knew the Faerie were watching over me. I remembered when my sister Merraid had shown me how they could be crushed to treat a cold. My life as a wandering minstrel was cut short.
My familiar is Pixie, a red ladybird who likes harassing birds of all sizes. Clearly blessed by Faerie. I returned to Eastlow Down and the villagers seemed pleased I'd already got started. A couple made a fuss over Pixie.
Entry 3, First Week of Spring
I've made myself at home and taken over the small garden of the last witch, Gyda nic Findscuap. Pixie has taken over a flower pot for their home and is very protective of it. My neighbour Fina is a distant relative and is watching out for me for my sisters. She left me a pie yesterday.
Now I'm getting ready to go foraging at Moonbreaker Mountain, for some cynic ivy.
Patient 1 - Malcolm the Guard, Handsome, Grizzled. Afflicted with Drunk (Blood 1, Cold 1, Senses 2, Time Limit 8)
Finishing Up
Hopefully Girvan falls into the rhythms of a village witch...
Have you played Apothecaria?
